


Law & Order: BGU

by Xadrea



Category: Final Fantasy VIII, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Gen, Inspired by Law & Order: SVU, Law Enforcement, M/M, Murder Mystery, Stabler vibes, Whodunnit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25692655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xadrea/pseuds/Xadrea
Summary: Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, and Zell Dincht are the lead detectives in the special crimes unit of Balamb’s national security organization. Hilarity, chaos, and heartbreak ensues when the victim is one of their own.Inspired by Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Relationships: Rinoa Heartilly/Squall Leonhart, Seifer Almasy/Irvine Kinneas, Zell Dincht/Library Girl
Kudos: 2





	Law & Order: BGU

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LionessRinoaVIII](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LionessRinoaVIII/gifts).



Law & Order: BGU

Balamb Town, Raha Cape  
Alcauld Bay Boardwalk  
Thursday, June 14  
10:27 am

Balamb Town’s tourist season was off to a slow start. A series of intense winter storms battered the small seaside villages without mercy that year. The hotel was hit the hardest, losing nearly a third of it’s outdoor dining area. Erosion claimed a good portion of the western beaches as well, the sea quite literally inhaled entire sections of boardwalk. The town was doing its best to bounce back from nature’s fury and a robust effort was made by the Balamb Ministry to pour funds into rebuilding efforts. The first round of tourists usually descended upon the capitol in mid May, but not this year. The slow trickle of outsiders and merchants flowed haphazardly by the week. 

While this was troubling to the residents in town, it was no bother to Commander Leonhart. The fewer outsiders to deal with that summer, the better. He was settling into his position as Garden’s military head. It wasnt the most glamorous job, but then again: neither was being a mercenary. With the political upheaval caused by the botched assassination attempt on the former Sorceress Edea, Balamb Garden was placed in a precarious position legally. The headmaster, a soft-spoken man with a backbone to match, Cid Kramer, left it to the young commander to smooth over political tensions wherever they may be. Squall accepted his charge graciously, vowing to uphold Garden’s mission. This calling was secondary to only one other: his oath as a sorceress’ knight. 

Rinoa Heartilly was still finding her proverbial wings the day Irvine Kinneas’ body was found in the bay. Five years into her new life amongst the mercenaries of Balamb Garden, she’d situated herself in the organization as Squall’s right hand. With the removal of the Garden Master NORG, Balamb Garden’s funding fate was left up in the air. A partnership was struck with the academy’s home country to assist in foreign and domestic threats to national security. Job opportunities for SeeD graduates flourished under the new rules, and the future of BGU was no longer threatened by funding failure. Rinoa’s position under Squall was to assist in investigations of security threats. Rarely, if ever, was there a case that sparked any true interest from the two of them. Rinoa was inexperienced to begin, but she caught on quickly and fell into line with the other trained SeeDs in Squall’s command. Five years on, they made a good team. There were few cases they brought before Balamb’s governing body that couldn’t be prosecuted. And in as much time, neither had considered they’d ever be investigating a crime in their own house. 

Zone, who was jogging with his friend and former freedom fighter Zone, thought the body he spotted along the marshy edge of the sparkling waters was a fish. He veered off the paved trail and trotted to the water’s edge, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famed Balamb Fish. He and Watts were transplants in every sense of the word. Finding work in the small village of Auclaud gave them some purpose while living out their political asylum in the island nation. Zone was studying to take the citizenship test and had taken an interest in Balamb’s natural resources. A Balamb fish? How lucky!

“Slow down, sir!” Watts trotted after his friend, nearly out of breath when he joined Zone at the water’s edge. “What are you looking at?”  
“I…I think I’m gonna be sick!” Zone staggered away, retching from the putrid smell of decaying flesh. Watts did the same, his eyes watering from the stench. 

Irvine’s skin was sloughing off, tiny fish nibbling away at the dead flesh. He was face down, his trench coat and long hair giving him away easily. Watts and Zone didnt wait to call authorities. News of his disappearance broke just a week before. Neither of the young men were close to Irvine by any means, but seeing his lifeless body was disconcerting nonetheless. Local authorities arrived first, taping off the area while waiting for the team from Garden to get there. Watts and Zone were questioned over and over again until both were nearly exhausted from repeating themselves. Balamb’s constables were notoriously useless when it came to taking any witness statements, but Zone did his best anyway. 

“That’s right, officer. I was on a jog.” 

“A jog? Out here in the country?”  
“Sir, we are standing in a residential neighborhood.” 

The officer looked the young man up and down, noting Watts’s cable knit hat. The overcast sky was holding back the summer heat, but it was by no means a chilly day. 

“You boys are from Timber…that right?”

“Yes,” Zone sighed. His stomach twisted under his ribs. He wasn’t good with confrontation. It upset his stomach. But then again, everything did. Hopefully the officer wasnt about to get on his case. 

“Hopefully you’re up to date on your employment visa.”

Zone broke into a sweat. Of course he was, that wasnt an issue. This guy was just being a jerk because he could. Watts looked at him helplessly. They’d left their old lives behind to avoid things like this. Another officer approached, a sullen expression on his face. 

“Sarge, the BGU detectives are here.” 

“I didnt call them.” 

“Yes, I know. But it’s standard procedure. The victim was a SeeD. It’s not our jurisdiction any longer.” 

Watts and Zone looked over their shoulders and saw Squall and Rinoa carefully stepping around the forensics team. Squall wore his usual unfriendly scowl. His appearance was polished and perfected. A dark suit and tie, with sunglasses to match. Rinoa was dressed similarly, but her long skirt hung to her mid calf. Her patent leather pumps were sinking into the marshy landscape. 

“We’ll take it from here, fellas.” 

Rinoa flashed a brief smile at the sergeant, more as a means of distracting him than a genuine friendliness. They weren’t on the best terms. Sargent Byers was distrustful of Balamb Garden. But so was most of the world in general. Something about Rinoa intrigued him, though. She was clearly an interloper, and yet...embraced by the hardened mercenaries as one of their own. There were rumors of the young woman being a Sorceress. That probably had plenty to do with it, as did the fact her father was military in Galbadia. Rich brat. 

“At least the weather’s not shit today, huh?” The other officer tried to joke. The sarge was going to be in a foul mood later for sure. Sometimes he’d be able to lighten things up with a good natured barb or quip...but not when the Garden Detectives snatched cases away from them. And certainly not when he played by the rules. Oh well. 

“We took statements from these two. I think you’ll find them adequate.” 

Squall accepted the small stack of papers and pushed them into his jacket without looking at them. Whatever they contained was likely not even correct. He’d come to expect very little from the local authorities in this respect. Thankfully, the crimes they ‘investigated’ often fell under the umbrella of theft. Murder was an entirely different animal. 

He and Rinoa wound their way through the glut of people standing around and approached the actual crime scene, plugging their noses from the unmistakable stench of decay. 

“God...Irvine,” Rinoa muttered, pressing her blouse sleeve to her nose. 

“It’s early to say yet,” the medical examiner announced, wading through the shallows as the body was drawn into a bag. “But I...don’t think this was an accident, or self inflicted.”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Squall replied, squinting at the deep gashes in the deceased’s white neck. 

“What do you think?”

The short man pointed to several dead fish floating at his ankles. “See these little guys? Same wounds.”

“Looks hacked up. Irvine wouldn’t have just let someone attack him,” Rinoa exclaimed. 

“Detective,” Squall said in a cool voice. “Save the speculations for later. 

Rinoa nodded, even though she disliked his tone. Squall was her commanding officer as well. They worked decently together. But...the other half of the relationship was getting complex. She shook off the momentary barbs and sighed, meandering around at the teams collecting bits of evidence. There were footprints everywhere. The crime scene was already less than perfect. 

Squall motioned to her and she rejoined him up on the main road with Watts and Zone. Both men were beginning to lose what composure they had left. Zone wrapped both arms around his stomach and doubled over, grimacing. 

“I-I’m sorry...I really cant do much more of this...”

“Understandable. And normal,” Squall said, passing a business card to Watts. “You’ll be one shock for a little while.”

“Rinoa...you and-and Squall KNEW Irvine,” Zone sputtered, still clutching his sides. “I can’t imagine—“

“Our feelings aren’t irrelevant,” Rinoa said briskly. “I appreciate the concern, but we have protocols to follow.”

“I’ll be in touch with you both this week, but if you remember anything else...please call. Any time.” Squall sounded reassuring. It was well rehearsed. 

Watts, who’s gone nearly as white as the sky overhead swallowed and nodded, his hands trembling a little. “Those police...they were asking about our visas...”

“Bastards,” Rinoa growled looking over her shoulder. “They got nothing better to do.”

“Quotas.” 

“We’ll they’re not filling any today,” Rinoa said, pushing Watts and Zone toward their unmarked car. “We’ll give you two a ride.”

“Detective Heartilly, that’s—“

“You’ve gotten everything we need, yes?”

Squall stares at her behind his dark glasses, holding back what he really wanted to say. “...this’ll be on you.”

“Always is!”


End file.
